Should Doctors March?

While sympathetic to the case made by Dr. Danielle Ofri for a broad political statement in Washington, I must disagree with this idea. As someone who has been on both sides of such actions, I have found them ineffective.

I have lobbied on Capitol Hill on behalf of several of the large physician groups during yearly meetings of these groups in the capital. I have also been a Senate staffer being lobbied by similar groups during the first phases of the discussion of the Affordable Care Act.

It was not the one-time statements, large or small, that had an effect on the final legislation, but the efforts of skilled, professional lobbyists making constant contact with congressional offices and offering actual legislative language that had the real impact on the final legislation.

Lobbying effectively is not a one-time, big-event process. It’s a day-in, day-out presentation of a logical and focused case that wins the day.

A march on Washington by doctors may attract news coverage for a day. Speaking with a single voice for patients’ rights and for social justice continuously will be far more effective. The insurance and pharmaceutical industries have figured this out.